Sharing content across videoconferencing sub-meetings

ABSTRACT

One example method for sharing content across videoconferencing sub-meetings includes establishing a videoconferencing session including a main meeting and a first sub-meeting, transmitting, from a first client, a content to be displayed over a data stream in the main meeting, transmitting, from a second client, a request to subscribe to the data stream over which the content is transmitted, and responsive to the request to subscribe to the data stream, receiving the content to be displayed in the first sub-meeting simultaneously with the content displayed in the main meeting.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/214,306, filed Mar. 26, 2021, entitled, “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORSHARING CONTENT ACROSS VIDEOCONFERENCE SUB-MEETING,” the entirety ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The present application generally relates to videoconferences and moreparticularly relates to systems and methods for sharing content acrossvideoconferencing sub-meetings.

BACKGROUND

Videoconferencing has become a common way for people to meet as a group,but without being at the same physical location. Participants can beinvited to a videoconference meeting, join from their personal computersor telephones, and are able to see and hear each other and converselargely as they would during an in-person group meeting or event. Theadvent of user-friendly videoconferencing software has enabled teams towork collaboratively despite being dispersed around the country or theworld. It has also enabled families and friends to engage with eachother in more meaningful ways, despite being physically distant fromeach other.

SUMMARY

Various examples are described for systems and methods for sharingcontent across videoconferencing sub-meetings. One example systemincludes a processor and at least one memory device. The memory deviceincludes instructions that are executable by the processor to cause theprocessor to establish a videoconferencing session including a mainmeeting and a first sub-meeting, receive a content transmitted over adata stream to be displayed in the main meeting, cause the content to bedisplayed in the main meeting, receive a request to subscribe to thedata stream over which the content is transmitted, and responsive toreceiving the request to subscribe to the data stream, cause the contentto be displayed in the first sub-meeting simultaneously with the contentdisplayed in the main meeting.

One example method includes establishing a videoconferencing sessionincluding a main meeting and a first sub-meeting, transmitting, from afirst client, a content to be displayed over a data stream in the mainmeeting, transmitting, from a second client, a request to subscribe tothe data stream over which the content is transmitted, and responsive tothe request to subscribe to the data stream, receiving the content to bedisplayed in the first sub-meeting simultaneously with the contentdisplayed in the main meeting.

One example non-transitory computer-readable medium includes code thatis executable by a processor for causing the processor to establish avideoconferencing session including a main meeting and a firstsub-meeting, transmit, from a first client, a content to be displayedover a data stream in the main meeting, transmit, from a second client,a request to subscribe to the data stream over which the content istransmitted, and responsive to the request to subscribe to the datastream, receive the content to be displayed in the first sub-meetingsimultaneously with the content displayed in the main meeting.

These illustrative examples are mentioned not to limit or define thescope of this disclosure, but rather to provide examples to aidunderstanding thereof. Illustrative examples are discussed in theDetailed Description, which provides further description. Advantagesoffered by various examples may be further understood by examining thisspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more certain examples and,together with the description of the example, serve to explain theprinciples and implementations of the certain examples.

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate example systems to enable waiting notifications forvideoconferencing sub-meetings;

FIG. 5 illustrate example methods for providing waiting notificationsfor videoconferencing sub-meetings; and

FIG. 6 shows an example computing device suitable for use with anydisclosed systems or methods according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples are described herein in the context of systems and methods forsharing content across videoconferencing sub-meetings. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will realize that the following description isillustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of examples asillustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicatorswill be used throughout the drawings and the following description torefer to the same or like items.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theexamples described herein are shown and described. It will, of course,be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madein order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliancewith application- and business-related constraints, and that thesespecific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from onedeveloper to another.

Videoconferencing systems enable their users to create and attendvideoconferences (or “meetings”) via various types of client devices.After joining a meeting, the participants receive audio and videostreams or feeds (or “multimedia” streams or feeds) from the otherparticipants and are presented with views of the video feeds from one ormore of the other participants and audio from the audio feeds. Usingthese different modalities, the participants can see and hear eachother, engage more deeply, and generally have a richer experiencedespite not being physically in the same space.

To create a meeting, a person (referred to as the “host” or “meetinghost”) accesses the videoconferencing system, sets parameters for thenew meeting, such as a start and end time, and identifies one or moreother people to invite to the meeting. In response to the host creatingthe meeting, the videoconference system establishes the meeting bycreating a meeting identifier and, if desired, a passcode or otheraccess control information. The host can then send the meetingidentifier (and access control information) to each of the invitees,such as by email. Once the meeting is started, the invitees can thenaccess and join the meeting using the meeting identifier and anyprovided access control information. The initial, or main host can, insome systems, make another participant a co-host. For purposes of thediscussion herein, the term “host” encompasses hosts and co-hosts. Hostscan manage and control the videoconferencing session. This control andmanagement typically includes managing sub-meetings, sometimes referredto as “breakout rooms.” Sub-meeting commands may include commands tostart a sub-meeting, move participants into a sub-meeting, moveparticipants out of a sub-meeting, or end the sub-meeting.

Often, participants in meetings share content with one another. Forinstance, a participant in a meeting might choose to share content thatappears on the user's screen. In the example system, the host or aparticipant in the main meeting room may want to share contentsimultaneously in the main meeting room and in one or more of thesub-meeting rooms.

For example, a meeting may be established for a virtual class. All thestudents initially join the main meeting. Subsequently, the students aredivided in to study groups. For each study group, a sub-meeting iscreated. Each study group can have multiple student participants. Thestudent participants move from the main meeting to the appropriatesub-meeting for that student's study group. In the example system, thevideo conference provider establishes multiple channels for each meetingand each sub-meeting.

A channel is a bi-directional link that allows data to flow from theserver to the client or from client to server. Such channels can be usedto transmit control signals, carry video conferencing streams, exchangetwo-way messages, or convey content from server to client or client toserver. For instance, data, such as video data, is sent over a datachannel. The video conference provider establishes a separate datachannel for the main meeting and each sub-meeting. A participant in aparticular meeting receives the data by “subscribing” to the datachannel. In the example system, when a user moves from the main meetingto the sub-meeting and subscribes to that meetings data channel orchannels. However, the user is also still associated with the mainmeeting and can subscribe to the data channel or channels associatedwith the main meeting.

At some point during the class, the instructor wishes to provide a testto all of the students in all of the various study groupssimultaneously. In the example system, the instructor clicks a button onthe videoconference control interface to share the test in the mainmeeting and each of the sub-meetings simultaneously. The content is sentover a data channel associated with the main meeting. And because thestudent is associated with the main meeting, the student is able tosubscribe to the data channel for the main meeting and thus receives thecontent while participating in the sub-meeting. Accordingly, the studentexperiences the shared content as if it were being shared in thestudent's sub-meeting. However, because the student is receiving thecontent over the same channel as participants in the main meeting, thesame content is shared across the main meeting and the sub-meeting(s)and appears simultaneously.

Participants in the sub-meeting are able to interact with the content invarious ways. For instance the participants in a sub-meeting may takecontrol of a presentation and iterate through slides or pages. In oneexample, a user in a sub-meeting may wish to annotate the content, suchas by answering a question on a test. Because the data channel thatcontains the content is shared across the main meeting and varioussub-meetings, any annotations the user makes on the shared content is inturn shared in the main meeting and any sub-meetings.

Such video conferencing systems provide numerous advantages. Forexample, participants in one meeting are typically only able to viewcontent for that meeting. However, in the examples described herein,participants in a sub-meeting, are able to view content from anothermeeting, the main meeting, without having to have the entirety of bothmeetings displayed simultaneously, and thus without the distraction ofhaving to potentially view all the participants from all of the relatedmeetings in order to view the shared content. Further, allowing thesimultaneous sharing of content across multiple meetings ensures thatpresentation of the content among the various rooms is synchronized.Examples by allowing participants to access data connections to multiplemeetings simultaneously, the provision of content to multiple meetingsis simplified.

This illustrative example is given to introduce the reader to thegeneral subject matter discussed herein and the disclosure is notlimited to this example. The following sections describe variousadditional non-limiting examples and examples of systems and methods forsharing content across videoconferencing sub-meetings.

Referring now to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 thatprovides videoconferencing functionality to various client devices. Thesystem 100 includes a video conference provider 110 that is connected tomultiple communication networks 120, 130, through which various clientdevices 140-180 can participate in videoconferences hosted by the videoconference provider 110. For example, the video conference provider 110can be located within a private network to provide videoconferencingservices to devices within the private network, or it can be connectedto a public network, e.g., the internet, so it may be accessed byanyone. Some examples may even provide a hybrid model in which a videoconference provider 110 may supply components to enable a privateorganization to host private internal videoconferences or to connect itssystem to the video conference provider 110 over a public network.

The system optionally also includes one or more user identity providers,e.g., user identity provider 115, which can provide user identityservices to users of the client devices 140-160 and may authenticateuser identities of one or more users to the video conference provider110. In this example, the user identity provider 115 is operated by adifferent entity than the video conference provider 110, though in someexamples, they may be the same entity.

Video conference provider 110 allows clients to create videoconferencemeetings (or “meetings”) and invite others to participate in thosemeetings as well as perform other related functionality, such asrecording the meetings, generating transcripts from meeting audio,manage user functionality in the meetings, enable text messaging duringthe meetings, create and manage breakout rooms from the main meeting,etc. FIG. 2, described below, provides a more detailed description ofthe architecture and functionality of the video conference provider 110.

To create a meeting with the video conference provider 110, a user maycontact the video conference provider 110 using a client device 140-180and select an option to create a new meeting. Such an option may beprovided in a webpage accessed by a client device 140-160 or clientapplication executed by a client device 140-160. For telephony devices,the user may be presented with an audio menu that they may navigate bypressing numeric buttons on their telephony device. To create themeeting, the video conference provider 110 may prompt the user forcertain information, such as a date, time, and duration for the meeting,a number of participants, a type of encryption to use, whether themeeting is confidential or open to the public, etc. After receiving thevarious meeting settings, the video conference provider may create arecord for the meeting and generate a meeting identifier and, in someexamples, a corresponding meeting password or passcode (or otherauthentication information), all of which meeting information isprovided to the meeting host.

After receiving the meeting information, the user may distribute themeeting information to one or more users to invite them to the meeting.To begin the meeting at the scheduled time (or immediately, if themeeting was set for an immediate start), the host provides the meetingidentifier and, if applicable, corresponding authentication information(e.g., a password or passcode). The videoconference system theninitiates the meeting and may admit users to the meeting. Depending onthe options set for the meeting, the users may be admitted immediatelyupon providing the appropriate meeting identifier (and authenticationinformation, as appropriate), even if the host has not yet arrived, orthe users may be presented with information indicating the that meetinghas not yet started or the host may be required to specifically admitone or more of the users.

During the meeting, the participants may employ their client devices140-180 to capture audio or video information and stream thatinformation to the video conference provider 110. They also receiveaudio or video information from the video conference provider 210, whichis displayed by the respective client device 140 to enable the varioususers to participate in the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, the host may select an option to terminatethe meeting, or it may terminate automatically at a scheduled end timeor after a predetermined duration. When the meeting terminates, thevarious participants are disconnected from the meeting and they will nolonger receive audio or video streams for the meeting (and will stoptransmitting audio or video streams). The video conference provider 110may also invalidate the meeting information, such as the meetingidentifier or password/passcode.

To provide such functionality, one or more client devices 140-180 maycommunicate with the video conference provider 110 using one or morecommunication networks, such as network 120 or the public switchedtelephone network (“PSTN”) 130. The client devices 140-180 may be anysuitable computing or communications device that have audio or videocapability. For example, client devices 140-160 may be conventionalcomputing devices, such as desktop or laptop computers having processorsand computer-readable media, connected to the video conference provider110 using the internet or other suitable computer network. Suitablenetworks include the internet, any local area network (“LAN”), metroarea network (“MAN”), wide area network (“WAN”), cellular network (e.g.,3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, etc.), or any combination of these. Other types ofcomputing devices may be used instead or as well, such as tablets,smartphones, and dedicated videoconferencing equipment. Each of thesedevices may provide both audio and video capabilities and may enable oneor more users to participate in a videoconference meeting hosted by thevideo conference provider 110.

In addition to the computing devices discussed above, client devices140-180 may also include one or more telephony devices, such as cellulartelephones (e.g., cellular telephone 170), internet protocol (“IP”)phones (e.g., telephone 180), or conventional telephones. Such telephonydevices may allow a user to make conventional telephone calls to othertelephony devices using the PSTN, including the video conferenceprovider 110. It should be appreciated that certain computing devicesmay also provide telephony functionality and may operate as telephonydevices. For example, smartphones typically provide cellular telephonecapabilities and thus may operate as telephony devices in the examplesystem 100 shown in FIG. 1. In addition, conventional computing devicesmay execute software to enable telephony functionality, which may allowthe user to make and receive phone calls, e.g., using a headset andmicrophone. Such software may communicate with a PSTN gateway to routethe call from a computer network to the PSTN. Thus, telephony devicesencompass any devices that can making conventional telephone calls andis not limited solely to dedicated telephony devices like conventionaltelephones.

Referring again to client devices 140-160, these devices 140-160 contactthe video conference provider 110 using network 120 and may provideinformation to the video conference provider 110 to access functionalityprovided by the video conference provider 110, such as access to createnew meetings or join existing meetings. To do so, the client devices140-160 may provide user identification information, meetingidentifiers, meeting passwords or passcodes, etc. In examples thatemploy a user identity provider 115, a client device, e.g., clientdevices 140-160, may operate in conjunction with a user identityprovider 115 to provide user identification information or other userinformation to the video conference provider 110.

A user identity provider 115 may be any entity trusted by the videoconference provider 110 that can help identify a user to the videoconference provider 110. For example, a trusted entity may be a serveroperated by a business or other organization and with whom the user hasestablished their identity, such as an employer or trusted third-party.The user may sign into the user identity provider 115, such as byproviding a username and password, to access their identity at the useridentity provider 115. The identity, in this sense, is informationestablished and maintained at the user identity provider 115 that can beused to identify a particular user, irrespective of the client devicethey may be using. An example of an identity may be an email accountestablished at the user identity provider 115 by the user and secured bya password or additional security features, such as biometricauthentication, two-factor authentication, etc. However, identities maybe distinct from functionality such as email. For example, a health careprovider may establish identities for its patients. And while suchidentities may have associated email accounts, the identity is distinctfrom those email accounts. Thus, a user's “identity” relates to asecure, verified set of information that is tied to a particular userand should be accessible only by that user. By accessing the identity,the associated user may then verify themselves to other computingdevices or services, such as the video conference provider 110.

When the user accesses the video conference provider 110 using a clientdevice, the video conference provider 110 communicates with the useridentity provider 115 using information provided by the user to verifythe user's identity. For example, the user may provide a username orcryptographic signature associated with a user identity provider 115.The user identity provider 115 then either confirms the user's identityor denies the request. Based on this response, the video conferenceprovider 110 either provides or denies access to its services,respectively.

For telephony devices, e.g., client devices 170-180, the user may placea telephone call to the video conference provider 110 to accessvideoconference services. After the call is answered, the user mayprovide information regarding a videoconference meeting, e.g., a meetingidentifier (“ID”), a passcode or password, etc., to allow the telephonydevice to join the meeting and participate using audio devices of thetelephony device, e.g., microphone(s) and speaker(s), even if videocapabilities are not provided by the telephony device.

Because telephony devices typically have more limited functionality thanconventional computing devices, they may be unable to provide certaininformation to the video conference provider 110. For example, telephonydevices may be unable to provide user identification information toidentify the telephony device or the user to the video conferenceprovider 110. Thus, the video conference provider 110 may provide morelimited functionality to such telephony devices. For example, the usermay be permitted to join a meeting after providing meeting information,e.g., a meeting identifier and passcode, but they may be identified onlyas an anonymous participant in the meeting. This may restrict theirability to interact with the meetings in some examples, such as bylimiting their ability to speak in the meeting, hear or view certaincontent shared during the meeting, or access other meetingfunctionality, such as joining breakout rooms or engaging in text chatwith other participants in the meeting.

It should be appreciated that users may choose to participate inmeetings anonymously and decline to provide user identificationinformation to the video conference provider 110, even in cases wherethe user has an authenticated identity and employs a client devicecapable of identifying the user to the video conference provider 110.The video conference provider 110 may determine whether to allow suchanonymous users to use services provided by the video conferenceprovider 110. Anonymous users, regardless of the reason for anonymity,may be restricted as discussed above with respect to users employingtelephony devices, and in some cases may be prevented from accessingcertain meetings or other services, or may be entirely prevented fromaccessing the video conference provider.

Referring again to video conference provider 110, in some examples, itmay allow client devices 140-160 to encrypt their respective video andaudio streams to help improve privacy in their meetings. Encryption maybe provided between the client devices 140-160 and the video conferenceprovider 110 or it may be provided in an end-to-end configuration wheremultimedia streams transmitted by the client devices 140-160 are notdecrypted until they are received by another client device 140-160participating in the meeting. Encryption may also be provided duringonly a portion of a communication, for example encryption may be usedfor otherwise unencrypted communications that cross internationalborders.

Client-to-server encryption may be used to secure the communicationsbetween the client devices 140-160 and the video conference provider110, while allowing the video conference provider 110 to access thedecrypted multimedia streams to perform certain processing, such asrecording the meeting for the participants or generating transcripts ofthe meeting for the participants. End-to-end encryption may be used tokeep the meeting entirely private to the participants without any worryabout a video conference provider 110 having access to the substance ofthe meeting. Any suitable encryption methodology may be employed,including key-pair encryption of the streams. For example, to provideend-to-end encryption, the meeting host's client device may obtainpublic keys for each of the other client devices participating in themeeting and securely exchange a set of keys to encrypt and decryptmultimedia content transmitted during the meeting. Thus the clientdevices 140-160 may securely communicate with each other during themeeting. Further, in some examples, certain types of encryption may belimited by the types of devices participating in the meeting. Forexample, telephony devices may lack the ability to encrypt and decryptmultimedia streams. Thus, while encrypting the multimedia streams may bedesirable in many instances, it is not required as it may prevent someusers from participating in a meeting.

By using the example system shown in FIG. 1, users can create andparticipate in meetings using their respective client devices 140-180via the video conference provider 110. Further, such a system enablesusers to use a wide variety of different client devices 140-180 fromtraditional standards-based videoconferencing hardware to dedicatedvideoconferencing equipment to laptop or desktop computers to handhelddevices to legacy telephony devices, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 shows an example system 200 in which avideo conference provider 210 provides videoconferencing functionalityto various client devices 220-250. The client devices 220-250 includetwo conventional computing devices 220-230, dedicated equipment for avideoconference room 240, and a telephony device 250. Each client device220-250 communicates with the video conference provider 210 over acommunications network, such as the internet for client devices 220-240or the PSTN for client device 250, generally as described above withrespect to FIG. 1. The video conference provider 210 is also incommunication with one or more user identity providers 215, which canauthenticate various users to the video conference provider 210generally as described above with respect to FIG. 1.

In this example, the video conference provider 210 employs multipledifferent servers (or groups of servers) to provide different aspects ofvideoconference functionality, thereby enabling the various clientdevices to create and participate in videoconference meetings. The videoconference provider 210 uses one or more real-time media servers 212,one or more network services servers 214, one or more video roomgateways 216, and one or more telephony gateways 218. Each of theseservers 212-218 is connected to one or more communications networks toenable them to collectively provide access to and participation in oneor more videoconference meetings to the client devices 220-250.

The real-time media servers 212 provide multiplexed multimedia streamsto meeting participants, such as the client devices 220-250 shown inFIG. 2. While video and audio streams typically originate at therespective client devices, they are transmitted from the client devices220-250 to the video conference provider 210 via one or more networkswhere they are received by the real-time media servers 212. Thereal-time media servers 212 determine which protocol is optimal basedon, for example, proxy settings and the presence of firewalls, etc. Forexample, the client device might select among UDP, TCP, TLS, or HTTPSfor audio and video and UDP for content screen sharing.

The real-time media servers 212 then multiplex the various video andaudio streams based on the target client device and communicatemultiplexed streams to each client device. For example, the real-timemedia servers 212 receive audio and video streams from client devices220-240 and only an audio stream from client device 250. The real-timemedia servers 212 then multiplex the streams received from devices230-250 and provide the multiplexed stream to client device 220. Thereal-time media servers 212 are adaptive, for example, reacting toreal-time network and client changes, in how they provide these streams.For example, the real-time media servers 212 may monitor parameters suchas a client's bandwidth CPU usage, memory and network I/O as well asnetwork parameters such as packet loss, latency and jitter to determinehow to modify the way in which streams are provided.

The client device 220 receives the stream, performs any decryption,decoding, and demultiplexing on the received streams, and then outputsthe audio and video using the client device's video and audio devices.In this example, the real-time media servers do not multiplex clientdevice 220's own video and audio feeds when transmitting streams to it.Instead each client device 220-250 only receives multimedia streams fromother client devices 220-250. For telephony devices that lack videocapabilities, e.g., client device 250, the real-time media servers 212only deliver multiplex audio streams. The client device 220 may receivemultiple streams for a particular communication, allowing the clientdevice 220 to switch between streams to provide a higher quality ofservice.

In addition to multiplexing multimedia streams, the real-time mediaservers 212 may also decrypt incoming multimedia stream in someexamples. As discussed above, multimedia streams may be encryptedbetween the client devices 220-250 and the video conference provider210. In some such examples, the real-time media servers 212 may decryptincoming multimedia streams, multiplex the multimedia streamsappropriately for the various clients, and encrypt the multiplexedstreams for transmission.

As mentioned above with respect to FIG. 1, the video conference provider210 may provide certain functionality with respect to unencryptedmultimedia streams at a user's request. For example, the meeting hostmay be able to request that the meeting be recorded or that a transcriptof the audio streams be prepared, which may then be performed by thereal-time media servers 212 using the decrypted multimedia streams, orthe recording or transcription functionality may be off-loaded to adedicated server (or servers), e.g., cloud recording servers, forrecording the audio and video streams. In some examples, the videoconference provider 210 may allow a meeting participant to notify it ofinappropriate behavior or content in a meeting. Such a notification maytrigger the real-time media servers to 212 record a portion of themeeting for review by the video conference provider 210. Still otherfunctionality may be implemented to take actions based on the decryptedmultimedia streams at the video conference provider, such as monitoringvideo or audio quality, adjusting or changing media encoding mechanisms,etc.

It should be appreciated that multiple real-time media servers 212 maybe involved in communicating data for a single meeting and multimediastreams may be routed through multiple different real-time media servers212. In addition, the various real-time media servers 212 may not beco-located, but instead may be located at multiple different geographiclocations, which may enable high-quality communications between clientsthat are dispersed over wide geographic areas, such as being located indifferent countries or on different continents. Further, in someexamples, one or more of these servers may be co-located on a client'spremises, e.g., at a business or other organization. For example,different geographic regions may each have one or more real-time mediaservers 212 to enable client devices in the same geographic region tohave a high-quality connection into the video conference provider 210via local servers 212 to send and receive multimedia streams, ratherthan connecting to a real-time media server located in a differentcountry or on a different continent. The local real-time media servers212 may then communicate with physically distant servers usinghigh-speed network infrastructure, e.g., internet backbone network(s),that otherwise might not be directly available to client devices 220-250themselves. Thus, routing multimedia streams may be distributedthroughout the videoconference system 210 and across many differentreal-time media servers 212.

Turning to the network services servers 214, these servers 214 provideadministrative functionality to enable client devices to create orparticipate in meetings, send meeting invitations, create or manage useraccounts or subscriptions, and other related functionality. Further,these servers may be configured to perform different functionalities orto operate at different levels of a hierarchy, e.g., for specificregions or localities, to manage portions of the video conferenceprovider under a supervisory set of servers. When a client device220-250 accesses the video conference provider 210, it will typicallycommunicate with one or more network services servers 214 to accesstheir account or to participate in a meeting.

When a client device 220-250 first contacts the video conferenceprovider 210 in this example, it is routed to a network services server214. The client device may then provide access credentials for a user,e.g., a username and password or single sign-on credentials, to gainauthenticated access to the video conference provider 210. This processmay involve the network services servers 214 contacting a user identityprovider 215 to verify the provided credentials. Once the user'scredentials have been accepted, the network services servers 214 mayperform administrative functionality, like updating user accountinformation, if the user has an identity with the video conferenceprovider 210, or scheduling a new meeting, by interacting with thenetwork services servers 214.

In some examples, users may access the video conference provider 210anonymously. When communicating anonymously, a client device 220-250 maycommunicate with one or more network services servers 214 but onlyprovide information to create or join a meeting, depending on whatfeatures the video conference provider allows for anonymous users. Forexample, an anonymous user may access the video conference providerusing client 220 and provide a meeting ID and passcode. The networkservices server 214 may use the meeting ID to identify an upcoming oron-going meeting and verify the passcode is correct for the meeting ID.After doing so, the network services server(s) 214 may then communicateinformation to the client device 220 to enable the client device 220 tojoin the meeting and communicate with appropriate real-time mediaservers 212.

In cases where a user wishes to schedule a meeting, the user (anonymousor authenticated) may select an option to schedule a new meeting and maythen select various meeting options, such as the date and time for themeeting, the duration for the meeting, a type of encryption to be used,one or more users to invite, privacy controls (e.g., not allowinganonymous users, preventing screen sharing, manually authorize admissionto the meeting, etc.), meeting recording options, etc. The networkservices servers 214 may then create and store a meeting record for thescheduled meeting. When the scheduled meeting time arrives (or within athreshold period of time in advance), the network services server(s) 214may accept requests to join the meeting from various users.

To handle requests to join a meeting, the network services server(s) 214may receive meeting information, such as a meeting ID and passcode, fromone or more client devices 220-250. The network services server(s) 214locate a meeting record corresponding to the provided meeting ID andthen confirm whether the scheduled start time for the meeting hasarrived, whether the meeting host has started the meeting, and whetherthe passcode matches the passcode in the meeting record. If the requestis made by the host, the network services server(s) 214 activates themeeting and connects the host to a real-time media server 212 to enablethe host to begin sending and receiving multimedia streams.

Once the host has started the meeting, subsequent users requestingaccess will be admitted to the meeting if the meeting record is locatedand the passcode matches the passcode supplied by the requesting clientdevice 220-250. In some examples additional access controls may be usedas well. But if the network services server(s) 214 determines to admitthe requesting client device 220-250 to the meeting, the networkservices server 214 identifies a real-time media server 212 to handlemultimedia streams to and from the requesting client device 220-250 andprovides information to the client device 220-250 to connect to theidentified real-time media server 212. Additional client devices 220-250may be added to the meeting as they request access through the networkservices server(s) 214.

After joining a meeting, client devices will send and receive multimediastreams via the real-time media servers 212, but they may alsocommunicate with the network services servers 214 as needed duringmeetings. For example, if the meeting host leaves the meeting, thenetwork services server(s) 214 may appoint another user as the newmeeting host and assign host administrative privileges to that user.Hosts may have administrative privileges to allow them to manage theirmeetings, such as by enabling or disabling screen sharing, muting orremoving users from the meeting, creating sub-meetings or “breakout”rooms, recording meetings, etc. Such functionality may be managed by thenetwork services server(s) 214.

For example, if a host wishes to remove a user from a meeting, they mayidentify the user and issue a command through a user interface on theirclient device. The command may be sent to a network services server 214,which may then disconnect the identified user from the correspondingreal-time media server 212. If the host wishes to create a breakout roomfor one or more meeting participants to join, such a command may also behandled by a network services server 214, which may create a new meetingrecord corresponding to the breakout room and then connect one or moremeeting participants to the breakout room similarly to how it originallyadmitted the participants to the meeting itself.

In addition to creating and administering on-going meetings, the networkservices server(s) 214 may also be responsible for closing and tearingdown meetings once they have completed. For example, the meeting hostmay issue a command to end an on-going meeting, which is sent to anetwork services server 214. The network services server 214 may thenremove any remaining participants from the meeting, communicate with oneor more real time media servers 212 to stop streaming audio and videofor the meeting, and deactivate, e.g., by deleting a correspondingpasscode for the meeting from the meeting record, or delete the meetingrecord(s) corresponding to the meeting. Thus, if a user later attemptsto access the meeting, the network services server(s) 214 may deny therequest.

Depending on the functionality provided by the video conferenceprovider, the network services server(s) 214 may provide additionalfunctionality, such as by providing private meeting capabilities fororganizations, special types of meetings (e.g., webinars), etc. Suchfunctionality may be provided according to various examples of videoconference providers according to this description.

Referring now to the video room gateway servers 216, these servers 216provide an interface between dedicated videoconferencing hardware, suchas may be used in dedicated videoconferencing rooms. Suchvideoconferencing hardware may include one or more cameras andmicrophones and a computing device designed to receive video and audiostreams from each of the cameras and microphones and connect with thevideo conference provider 210. For example, the videoconferencinghardware may be provided by the video conference provider to one or moreof its subscribers, which may provide access credentials to thevideoconferencing hardware to use to connect to the video conferenceprovider.

The video room gateway servers 216 provide specialized authenticationand communication with the dedicated videoconferencing hardware that maynot be available to other client devices 220-230, 250. For example, thevideoconferencing hardware may register with the video conferenceprovider when it is first installed and the video room gateway mayauthenticate the videoconferencing hardware using such registration aswell as information provided to the video room gateway server(s) 216when dedicated videoconferencing hardware connects to it, such as deviceID information, subscriber information, hardware capabilities, hardwareversion information etc. Upon receiving such information andauthenticating the dedicated videoconferencing hardware, the video roomgateway server(s) 216 may interact with the network services servers 214and real-time media servers 212 to allow the videoconferencing hardwareto create or join meetings hosted by the video conference provider 210.

Referring now to the telephony gateway servers 218, these servers 218enable and facilitate telephony devices' participation in meetings hosedby the video conference provider. Because telephony devices communicateusing the PSTN and not using computer networking protocols, such asTCP/IP, the telephony gateway servers 218 act as an interface thatconverts between the PSTN and the networking system used by the videoconference provider 210.

For example, if a user uses a telephony device to connect to a meeting,they may dial a phone number corresponding to one of the videoconference provider's telephony gateway servers 218. The telephonygateway server 218 will answer the call and generate audio messagesrequesting information from the user, such as a meeting ID and passcode.The user may enter such information using buttons on the telephonydevice, e.g., by sending dual-tone multi-frequency (“DTMF”) audiosignals to the telephony gateway server 218. The telephony gatewayserver 218 determines the numbers or letters entered by the user andprovides the meeting ID and passcode information to the network servicesservers 214, along with a request to join or start the meeting,generally as described above. Once the telephony client device 250 hasbeen accepted into a meeting, the telephony gateway server 218 isinstead joined to the meeting on the telephony device's behalf.

After joining the meeting, the telephony gateway server 218 receives anaudio stream from the telephony device and provides it to thecorresponding real-time media server 212, and receives audio streamsfrom the real-time media server 212, decodes them, and provides thedecoded audio to the telephony device. Thus, the telephony gatewayservers 218 operate essentially as client devices, while the telephonydevice operates largely as an input/output device, e.g., a microphoneand speaker, for the corresponding telephony gateway server 218, therebyenabling the user of the telephony device to participate in the meetingdespite not using a computing device or video.

It should be appreciated that the components of the video conferenceprovider 210 discussed above are merely examples of such devices and anexample architecture. Some video conference providers may provide moreor less functionality than described above and may not separatefunctionality into different types of servers as discussed above.Instead, any suitable servers and network architectures may be usedaccording to different examples.

Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 shows another example system 300 for sharingcontent across videoconferencing sub-meetings. Example system 300includes video conference provider 310 and network services server(s)314. Resources of the video conference provider 310 can include storedmeeting connections 316. The stored meeting connections includeidentifiers for each participant and host as well as meetings to whicheach participant and host is subscribed. A subscription to a meeting canbe for one or more multimedia data streams (e.g., audio or videostreams) and/or control streams. A participant or host, through a clientdevice, can be subscribed to multiple meetings, e.g., the host can besubscribed to control streams from one meeting and can also besubscribed to multimedia streams from another meeting. Thus, asubscription to a meeting may involve being subscribed to multipledifferent data streams associated with that meeting. The stored meetingconnections provide a reference that can be used for messaging and otherservices to determine which streams a particular participant (whether ahost or not) is subscribed to. Client devices for these participants areconnected to the meeting servers, including network services servers 314using TCP or UDP. For example, a service connection that includes, forexample, a command channel, may be maintained using TCP and data may beexchanged over a data channel using UDP. For example, for purposes of ahost being able to receive notifications while in a breakout room, astored meeting connection of the host to the main meeting ensures thatthe host is treated as part of the main meeting for messaging purposeswhen the host is participating in a sub-meeting.

System 300 in this example is maintaining a main meeting 365 includingthe host, participant A, and a presenter, participant B. System 300 isalso maintaining a sub-meeting (breakout room) 350 including participantC. The main videoconferencing meeting 365 can be presented to users as avirtual meeting room with visual representations of some or all of theparticipants provided either by their respective video feed or anidentifier, such as their name. Sub-meeting 350 can be presented tousers as a virtual breakout room, similarly to how the main meeting ispresented to users. System 300 can create additional sub-meetings asneeded. Each virtual room includes participants, the identities of whichcan be accessed and presented as a list in a user interface displayed byclient devices with appropriate display capabilities. The experience ofvideoconferencing using virtual rooms thus substantially replicates theexperience of holding a gathering in a main conference room in whichparticipants divide into groups and meet in additional conference roomsor offices. While system 300 only includes a main meeting and onesub-meeting, other examples may include multiple sub-meetings, andsub-meetings may include a hierarchy that is deeper than the two-levelhierarchy illustrated in FIG. 3. In other words, sub-meetings may bedivided into sub-sub-meetings in various examples.

In system 300, once the videoconferencing session associated with a hosthas been established, the presenter can then share content with theparticipants in the main meeting. The content 370 is communicated to thevideo conference provider 310 and then distributed to all theparticipants in the main meeting 365. For example, the presenter mayenable screen sharing so that participants in the main meeting can viewa slide show presentation on presenter's client device. Each participantin the main meeting receives the content 370 by virtue of theirsubscription to the main meeting.

In system 300, the host or another participant in the main meeting canindicate that the content 370 is also to be shared with sub-meetings.The indication 375 that the content is to be shared with the sub-meeting350 is then transmitted to the sub-meeting. Participants of thesub-meeting 350, such as participant C, receive the indication 375. Forexample, the users in the sub-meeting 350 may all receive a commendmessage indicating that the content 370 is to be sent in a data channel.In system 300, participants in the sub-meeting 350 can then thensubscribe to the data stream for the main meeting, which causes asubscribe message 380 to be transmitted to the video conference provider310, which then updates the meeting connections 316 data store toreflect the subscription. From that point, participants in thesub-meeting 350 are able to view the content 370 from the presenter,while participants in the main meeting 365 view the same content. Insome examples, the content might include some indication that itoriginates in another room or that it is shared across rooms. Forexample, the content might be displayed under a banner having a certaincolor or having a header indicating that it is shared across meetings.

In the example of system 300, when participant C enters the sub-meeting350, participant C subscribes to the sub-meeting 350, e.g., a connectionis established between participant C and one or more data or controlstreams associated with the sub-meeting 350. In addition, in the examplewhere content is shared in the main meeting 365 and the sub-meeting 350,participant C is also subscribed to the main meeting 365, or at leastsubscribed to the data stream associated with the main meeting 365 thatcontains or is used to transmit the content 370.

Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 shows another example system 400 for sharingcontent across videoconferencing sub-meetings. Example system 400includes meeting server 413. Meeting server 413 may also be referred toas a multimedia router and can be implemented by the real-time mediaservers 212 working with the network services servers 214. The meetingserver maintains stored representations of the meetings and sub-meetingstaking place in the system so that the meeting server can keep track ofthe status of meetings and sub-meetings without constantly exchangingthis information with client devices. Some client devices also maintainstored representations of the meetings or sub-meetings to which theassociated participant or host is subscribed so that virtual meetingrooms can be displayed to the user. System 400 includes a main meetingroom representation 430 on a client device, and a main meeting roomrepresentation 465 on meeting server 413. In this example, the host,participant A, and a presenter, participant B, are visible in the mainmeeting room. In system 400, the participants A and B maintain aconnection to the main meeting room specified in meeting connections316.

System 400 also includes breakout room representation 435 maintained ona client device and breakout room representation 450 maintained onmeeting server 413. The breakout room includes participant C. Sincecurrent meeting participants are in the main meeting room and thebreakout room, communication with both room includes a media connection,audio/video (A/V) streams 485 and 495, through which shared content 370can be provided to participants in both rooms simultaneously.

Referring now to the method 500 illustrated in FIG. 5, FIG. 5 shows anexample method 500 for sharing content across videoconferencingsub-meetings. The description of the method 500 in FIG. 5 will be madewith reference to the system 300 shown in FIG. 3; however any suitablesystem according to this disclosure may be used, such as the examplesystems 100, 200, and 400 shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4.

At block 505, a processor at video conference provider 310 establishes avideoconferencing session including a main meeting and at least a firstsub-meeting. The videoconferencing session is associated with at leastone host within meeting connections 316. The videoconferencing sessionis also associated with a presenter in at least one of the meeting orfirst sub-meeting that will present content. Participants subscribe tochannels that are associated with the particular meeting in which theyare participating. For example, the main meeting may have a command anda data channel associated with it. The client of a participant in themain meeting subscribes to those two channels to allow the client tosend and receive commands and take part in the video conference. Forexample, each channel may be associated with an identifier, and theclient uses the identifier in order to connect to the channel. In theexample process shown in FIG. 5, a participant in a sub-meeting is alsoassociated with the main meeting and so is able to subscribe to channelsassociated with either the main meeting or the sub-meeting.

At block 510, the presenter provides content to the video conferenceprovider 310. For example, the presenter may indicate that the presenteris sharing her screen or sharing a video feed from another source. Whenthe presenter shares her screen, the content from her screen is thenshared with the video conference provider 310 as a new data stream, oras a substitute data stream to her own video feed from her camera, aswell as other participants in the virtual meeting room in which thepresenter is present. In this example, the presenter is virtuallypresent in the main meeting 365. For example, the main meeting 365 andsub-meeting 350 may be associated with a classroom. And the content maybe a test to be taken by the students in the classroom.

At block 515, the video conference provider receives an indication thatthe content is to be shared with a first sub-meeting 350. For example,the host of the meeting may select a control indicating that the contentis to be shared in the main meeting room 350 and the first sub-meetingroom 350 simultaneously. The control may allow the presenter to selectthe main meeting or one or more sub-meetings to share the content with.In the classroom example, the instructor may wish that all students,including those in the main and sub-meetings, take the test at the sametime. Thus the content is to be shared simultaneously in the mainmeeting room 365 as well as the first sub-meeting room 350. Toaccomplish this, the presenter may select all of the available meetingsand sub-meetings to receive the shared content; however, in otherexamples, the presenter may only share the content with a subset of themain meeting or one or more of the sub-meetings.

At block 525, an indication is generated that notifies a participant inthe sub-meeting 350 that the content 370 is to be displayed in the firstsub-meeting 350. The notification may include display information to bepresented to the participant and it may include information to instructthe participant's client device how to receive the shared content, suchas by identifying a data stream associated with the main meeting. Forexample, a pop-up may be displayed on participant C's client device,which is participating in the sub-meeting 350, that states that the testwill be shown. In some examples, participant C may confirm that thecontent should be displayed and thereby subscribe to the data streamfrom video conference provider 310 that contains the content 370. If theparticipant confirms that the content should be shared, participant C'sclient device subscribes to the corresponding data stream from the mainmeeting. Alternatively, if participant C's confirmation is not required,their client device may simply subscribed to the data stream with theshared content in response to receiving the notification.

At block 530, the content is shared in the first sub-meeting 530. To doso, the video conference provider 310 transmits the data from the sharedcontent to the main meeting's data stream. At this point, participant Cis subscribed to the data stream containing the content 370 and thecontent is then displayed on participant C's client device. In theclassroom example, participant C is now able to view the test.

In some examples, participant C can now interact with the content. Inprocess 600, participant C can annotate the shared content 370 in thesub-meeting, and the annotations are then displayed in the sub-meeting350 and the main meeting 365 simultaneously. In the classroom example,participant C might solve a problem on the test using an annotationtool, and the solution would be displayed to the main meeting 365 andthe sub-meeting 350 participants simultaneously.

At block 540, the video conference provider 310 provides a command thatthe content is no longer to be shared. For instance, in the classroomexample, the instructor ay indicate that the test is complete, such asby selecting a button or other control on their client device. In someexamples, the shared content may have an associated timer, such as for atimed test. In one such example, when the timer expires, the videoconference provider 310 stops sharing the content or instructs theparticipants' client devices to unsubscribe from the corresponding datastream. In another such example, the presenter's client device maynotify the presenter that the timer has expired and provide an option tostop sharing the content. When the client device receives the command,it may unsubscribe or the server may shut down the data channeltransmitting the content.

It should be appreciated that the example method 500 may be executed indifferent orders or multiple blocks may occur substantiallysimultaneously. For example, blocks 510 through 530 may occur multipletimes during a videoconference session established at block 505.Further, block 535 may not occur during some videoconference sessions.

Referring now to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 shows an example computing device 600suitable for use in example systems or methods for sharing contentacross videoconferencing sub-meetings. The example computing device 600includes a processor 610 which is in communication with the memory 620and other components of the computing device 600 using one or morecommunications buses 602. The processor 610 is configured to executeprocessor-executable instructions stored in the memory 620 to performone or more methods for providing waiting notifications and managing awaiting queue according to different examples, such as part or all ofthe example method 500 described above with respect to FIG. 5. Thecomputing device, in this example, also includes one or more user inputdevices 650, such as a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, video input device(e.g., one or more cameras), microphone, etc., to accept user input. Thecomputing device 600 also includes a display 640 to provide visualoutput to a user as well as a video input device 660, such as a camera,to capture visual input.

The computing device 600 also includes a communications interface 630.In some examples, the communications interface 630 may enablecommunications using one or more networks, including a local areanetwork (“LAN”); wide area network (“WAN”), such as the Internet;metropolitan area network (“MAN”); point-to-point or peer-to-peerconnection; etc. Communication with other devices may be accomplishedusing any suitable networking protocol. For example, one suitablenetworking protocol may include the Internet Protocol (“IP”),Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”),or combinations thereof, such as TCP/IP or UDP/IP.

While some examples of methods and systems herein are described in termsof software executing on various machines, the methods and systems mayalso be implemented as specifically-configured hardware, such asfield-programmable gate array (FPGA) specifically to execute the variousmethods according to this disclosure. For example, examples can beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware,firmware, software, or in a combination thereof. In one example, adevice may include a processor or processors. The processor comprises acomputer-readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM) coupledto the processor. The processor executes computer-executable programinstructions stored in memory, such as executing one or more computerprograms. Such processors may comprise a microprocessor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and state machines. Suchprocessors may further comprise programmable electronic devices such asPLCs, programmable interrupt controllers (PICs), programmable logicdevices (PLDs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), electronicallyprogrammable read-only memories (EPROMs or EEPROMs), or other similardevices.

Such processors may comprise, or may be in communication with, media,for example one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, that maystore processor-executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, can cause the processor to perform methods according to thisdisclosure as carried out, or assisted, by a processor. Examples ofnon-transitory computer-readable medium may include, but are not limitedto, an electronic, optical, magnetic, or other storage device capable ofproviding a processor, such as the processor in a web server, withprocessor-executable instructions. Other examples of non-transitorycomputer-readable media include, but are not limited to, a floppy disk,CD-ROM, magnetic disk, memory chip, ROM, RAM, ASIC, configuredprocessor, all optical media, all magnetic tape or other magnetic media,or any other medium from which a computer processor can read. Theprocessor, and the processing, described may be in one or morestructures, and may be dispersed through one or more structures. Theprocessor may comprise code to carry out methods (or parts of methods)according to this disclosure.

The foregoing description of some examples has been presented only forthe purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed.Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

Reference herein to an example or implementation means that a particularfeature, structure, operation, or other characteristic described inconnection with the example may be included in at least oneimplementation of the disclosure. The disclosure is not restricted tothe particular examples or implementations described as such. Theappearance of the phrases “in one example,” “in an example,” “in oneimplementation,” or “in an implementation,” or variations of the same invarious places in the specification does not necessarily refer to thesame example or implementation. Any particular feature, structure,operation, or other characteristic described in this specification inrelation to one example or implementation may be combined with otherfeatures, structures, operations, or other characteristics described inrespect of any other example or implementation.

Use herein of the word “or” is intended to cover inclusive and exclusiveOR conditions. In other words, A or B or C includes any or all of thefollowing alternative combinations as appropriate for a particularusage: A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B only; A and C only; B and Conly; and A and B and C.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: establishing avideoconferencing session including a main meeting and a firstsub-meeting; transmitting, from a first client, a content to bedisplayed over a data stream in the main meeting; transmitting, from asecond client, a request to subscribe to the data stream over which thecontent is transmitted; and responsive to the request to subscribe tothe data stream, receiving the content to be displayed in the firstsub-meeting simultaneously with the content displayed in the mainmeeting.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying a firstparticipant in the first sub-meeting that the content is available. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising: establishing a secondsub-meeting; and receiving the content to be displayed in the secondsub-meeting simultaneously with the content displayed in the mainmeeting.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising notifying a secondparticipant in the second sub-meeting that the content is available. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an annotation ofthe content from the first sub-meeting; and causing the annotation to bedisplayed on the content in the main meeting.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving an indication that the content is availableto be displayed in the first sub-meeting.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the content is received over a data channel associated with themain meeting.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication isreceived over a command channel.
 9. A system comprising: a processor;and at least one memory device including instructions that areexecutable by the processor to cause the processor to: establish avideoconferencing session including a main meeting and a firstsub-meeting; transmit, from a first client, a content to be displayedover a data stream in the main meeting; transmit, from a second client,a request to subscribe to the data stream over which the content istransmitted; and responsive to the request to subscribe to the datastream, receive the content to be displayed in the first sub-meetingsimultaneously with the content displayed in the main meeting.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the instructions are executable by theprocessor to further cause the processor to notify a first participantin the first sub-meeting that the content is available.
 11. The systemof claim 9, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor tofurther cause the processor to: establish a second sub-meeting; andreceive the content to be displayed in the second sub-meetingsimultaneously with the content displayed in the main meeting.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the instructions are executable by theprocessor to further cause the processor to notify a second participantin the second sub-meeting that the content is available.
 13. The systemof claim 9, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor tofurther cause the processor to: receive an annotation of the contentfrom the first sub-meeting; and cause the annotation to be displayed onthe content in the main meeting.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein theinstructions are executable by the processor to further cause theprocessor to receive an indication that the content is available to bedisplayed in the first sub-meeting.
 15. The system of claim 14, whereinthe content is received over a data channel associated with the mainmeeting.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the indication is receivedover a command channel.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one ormore processors to: establish a videoconferencing session including amain meeting and a first sub-meeting; transmit, from a first client, acontent to be displayed over a data stream in the main meeting;transmit, from a second client, a request to subscribe to the datastream over which the content is transmitted; and responsive to therequest to subscribe to the data stream, receive the content to bedisplayed in the first sub-meeting simultaneously with the contentdisplayed in the main meeting.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 17, wherein the instructions are executable by theprocessor to further cause the processor to notify a first participantin the first sub-meeting that the content is available.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein theinstructions are executable by the processor to further cause theprocessor to: establish a second sub-meeting; and receive the content tobe displayed in the second sub-meeting simultaneously with the contentdisplayed in the main meeting.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 17, wherein the instructions are executable by theprocessor to further cause the processor to receive an indication thatthe content is available to be displayed in the first sub-meeting.